AI Gains Access to Gaza

After weeks of Israeli and Egyptian restrictions, AI finally entered Gaza this past weekend to survey the damages caused by three weeks of Israeli strikes. But because of persistent denials by Israel to let human rights monitors enter, the AI mission was forced to enter through the border crossing of Rafah, a town that was extensively bombed in the recent air strikes. The team entered just hours before Israel’s ceasefire and then traveled via road to Gaza city. In a blog entry posted about the experience, they observed:

We saw many buildings reduced to rubble. Some had been directly targeted; others destroyed or damaged when nearby buildings were bombed. In several places, the outer walls of buildings had been blown off

We found evidence of widespread use of white phosphorus by the Israeli army in densely populated areas in and around Gaza City. In an alleyway in Gaza City, we saw barefooted children running around lumps of still smouldering phosphorus. We found more on the roof of a family’s house and still more on a busy street

In the Zaitoun neighbourhood of Gaza City, rescue workers were pulling out the bodies of members of the Sammuni family from the rubble of their home. They had been killed in Israeli strikes two weeks earlier and Israeli soldiers had subsequently bulldozed the house on top of them

One picture–left behind from an Israeli soldier–had the following words scribed on it: “1 down, 999,999 to go.

Meanwhile as US headlines drift away from the conflict in Gaza, leading European publications are running stories about how the attack on Gaza was perhaps worse than we thought. The BBC reports, that 1300 Palestinians have been killed, 4,000 buildings destroyed, 20,000 severely damaged, 50,000 live in UN shelters. In addition, 13 Israelis were killed.

But some, like Eva Bartlett of the International Solidarity Movement, find little reason to celebrate the ceasefire: “Today was the first day that medics and journalists were able to reach areas occupied by the invading Israeli troops. For some the anguish is immense: pulverised homes, killed family members, corpses unretrieved, sanctimony and all that is sacred defiled. For others, the suffering is in the tragedy of shattered dreams, of every personal item destroyed or lost. While the bombs may have stopped, for now, the terror remains. F-16s still flew low, terrifyingly low, today, so loud, so unpredictable. No one here has any reason to believe any words Israeli leaders proclaim. Only reason to believe in the worst.”

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About Zahir Janmohamed

Prior to Amnesty International, he worked for the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy where he organized conferences in Nigeria and Sudan on the democratization process.View all postsRSS Feed

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30 thoughts on “AI Gains Access to Gaza”

THE TRADEGY IS OVERWHELMIMG; HOWEVER, WHAT IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE WHEN DEADLY FORCE (HAMAS ROCKETS) ARE FIRED AT YOU ON A DAILY BASIS. DOES ISRAEL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE DEADLY FORCE WHEN THREATENED WITH DEADLY FORCE?!

Dave, the correct response is a proportional response. Killing hundreds of children, some by direct execution with bullets to the head, the use of white phosphorous as a weapon to melts flesh to the bones, the use of unconventional explosives that amputate limbs and create unstoppable bleeding from even the smallest wounds, that is not proportional at all. The war crimes have been documented and I hope Israel gets the legal punishment it deserves for violating international law and stomping on human rights. "Never Again" — sure, unless they get to be the instigators instead of the victims, it seems.

Unlike Hamas who aims to kill civilians, Israel does its best to avoid them. Aside from the fact that Hamas uses human shields, remember that 85% of Gazans voted for the terrorist Hamas to be their leaders. Those 85% are as innocent as those that voted for Hitler or Saddam Hussein.

Did James Monroe ever think that this IS a proportional response to 8,000 rocket attacks? Perhaps if Hamas would serve its people with an infrastructure instead of terrorism, the people of Gazan would have no fear. Lots of tunnels for arms but no bomb shelters except for the hierarchy. Blame those that are their "leaders" and not the Israeli victims of terrorism. How many rockets should a sovereign nation take until it strikes back. If Israel was an Arab country, Gaza would be a Dresdin.

So, what now? 1300 plus dead and thousands others wounded, all in the name of what? Is everyone going to sit back now and forget the crimes that have been committed against innocent civilians? Come on…this is ridiculous. Israel and there justification of terrorist activities against humanity is pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. And if anyone can sit here and actually stomach the garbage that the Israeli Government/IDF etc. is spewing out, without realizing the severity of what Isreal just did and continues to do over and over again…BOMBING U.N. SHELTERS/SCHOOLS ETC. and using Palestenian children as shields??? We live in a sad, sad world where apparently it is okay for certain groups/countries — ISRAEL — to TERRORIZE innocent people, while the pathetic international community…including that pro-isreal/anti-palestinian — go ahead Israel, kill innocent women and children — U.S. Super Power and those stand up just as pathetic Arab countries ALLOW the murdering to continue in Palestine — sit back and DO NOTHING. And really, the United Nations of What? Israel spit on them and the Red Cross and continued its terrorist activities using illegal substances in their bombing. I can't even continue with my post. I'm sick to my stomach.

"Unlike Hamas who aims to kill civilians, Israel does its best to avoid them."

Yeah. Israelis drop huge bombs on apartment buildings and then have the gall to declare that they try to avoid killing civilians.

Like your Israeli friends (or kin), Ken, you must profoundly damaged psychologically to write such a preposterous thing as Israelis try to avoid killing Palestinian civilians. And that's not even addressing the outright murder of Palestinians of all ages by Israeli soldiers on the ground.

American silence doesn't mean Israel isn't seen for the vicious nation-state it is, but just means our politicians and media and population are still cowed by the shrill and lying voices of the Israel Lobby, by the manipulative identification of all opposition as anti-Semitic.

The latest massacre in Gaza provides yet another example of the irrationality of Israeli sanctimony and our own cowardice in not disowning this alliance. Isn't it enough that we have to be responsible for the war crimes of our own government?

Nelly: Don't believe our lying eyes, but believe you? Yeah. Based on what? The history of Israel? Why don't the Israelis let the internatinal press in so we can see for ourselves? Because they don't want the world to see the truth.

THE TRADEGY IS OVERWHELMIMG; HOWEVER, WHAT IS THE CORRECT RESPONSE WHEN DEADLY FORCE (HAMAS ROCKETS) ARE FIRED AT YOU ON A DAILY BASIS. DOES ISRAEL NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO USE DEADLY FORCE WHEN THREATENED WITH DEADLY FORCE?!

Dave, the correct response is a proportional response. Killing hundreds of children, some by direct execution with bullets to the head, the use of white phosphorous as a weapon to melts flesh to the bones, the use of unconventional explosives that amputate limbs and create unstoppable bleeding from even the smallest wounds, that is not proportional at all. The war crimes have been documented and I hope Israel gets the legal punishment it deserves for violating international law and stomping on human rights. “Never Again” — sure, unless they get to be the instigators instead of the victims, it seems.

Unlike Hamas who aims to kill civilians, Israel does its best to avoid them. Aside from the fact that Hamas uses human shields, remember that 85% of Gazans voted for the terrorist Hamas to be their leaders. Those 85% are as innocent as those that voted for Hitler or Saddam Hussein.

Did James Monroe ever think that this IS a proportional response to 8,000 rocket attacks? Perhaps if Hamas would serve its people with an infrastructure instead of terrorism, the people of Gazan would have no fear. Lots of tunnels for arms but no bomb shelters except for the hierarchy. Blame those that are their “leaders” and not the Israeli victims of terrorism. How many rockets should a sovereign nation take until it strikes back. If Israel was an Arab country, Gaza would be a Dresdin.

So, what now? 1300 plus dead and thousands others wounded, all in the name of what? Is everyone going to sit back now and forget the crimes that have been committed against innocent civilians? Come on…this is ridiculous. Israel and there justification of terrorist activities against humanity is pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. And if anyone can sit here and actually stomach the garbage that the Israeli Government/IDF etc. is spewing out, without realizing the severity of what Isreal just did and continues to do over and over again…BOMBING U.N. SHELTERS/SCHOOLS ETC. and using Palestenian children as shields??? We live in a sad, sad world where apparently it is okay for certain groups/countries — ISRAEL — to TERRORIZE innocent people, while the pathetic international community…including that pro-isreal/anti-palestinian — go ahead Israel, kill innocent women and children — U.S. Super Power and those stand up just as pathetic Arab countries ALLOW the murdering to continue in Palestine — sit back and DO NOTHING. And really, the United Nations of What? Israel spit on them and the Red Cross and continued its terrorist activities using illegal substances in their bombing. I can’t even continue with my post. I’m sick to my stomach.

“Unlike Hamas who aims to kill civilians, Israel does its best to avoid them.”

Yeah. Israelis drop huge bombs on apartment buildings and then have the gall to declare that they try to avoid killing civilians.

Like your Israeli friends (or kin), Ken, you must profoundly damaged psychologically to write such a preposterous thing as Israelis try to avoid killing Palestinian civilians. And that’s not even addressing the outright murder of Palestinians of all ages by Israeli soldiers on the ground.

American silence doesn’t mean Israel isn’t seen for the vicious nation-state it is, but just means our politicians and media and population are still cowed by the shrill and lying voices of the Israel Lobby, by the manipulative identification of all opposition as anti-Semitic.

The latest massacre in Gaza provides yet another example of the irrationality of Israeli sanctimony and our own cowardice in not disowning this alliance. Isn’t it enough that we have to be responsible for the war crimes of our own government?

Nelly: Don’t believe our lying eyes, but believe you? Yeah. Based on what? The history of Israel? Why don’t the Israelis let the internatinal press in so we can see for ourselves? Because they don’t want the world to see the truth.

In March 2002 thousands of Palestinians were injured, arrested, or made homeless. Israeli troops forced Palestinian civilians to assist military operations and used others to shield themselves from danger. Troops looted and damaged the property of civilians and of the Palestinian Authority. Between September 30, 2000, and May 10, 2004, some 500 Palestinian children and 2,500 Palestinian adults were killed. By the end of November 2004, 3,040 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, including 606 children. The Israeli government opened Military Police investigations into several cases of looting and the forced use of civilians in military operations, but did not investigate any cases of civilian deaths.
Human Rights Watch has found that Israeli military's investigative practices and procedures are not impartial, thorough, or timely. The military rarely has brought wrongdoers to justice, and existing practices have exerted little deterrent effect. In May 2004, for example, Zvi Koretzki was convicted for the negligent killing of sixteen-year-old Muhammad 'Ali Zaid; he was demoted and sentenced to two months of imprisonment. In contrast, the same court system handed down a sentence of six months to a defendant who had stolen a mobile phone, cigarette lighter and $500 cash!
Conscientious objectors have been sentenced to twelve months in prison.
America's $84.8 billion in aid to Israel from fiscal years 1949 through 1998, and the interest the U.S. paid to borrow this money, has cost U.S. taxpayers $134.8 billion, not adjusted for inflation. Or, put another way, the nearly $14,630 every one of the approx. 6 million Israelis received from the U.S. government by Oct. 31, 1997 has cost American taxpayers $23,240 per Israeli!
The Israeli "demo(n)cracy" is a Jewish/Zionist state, without any defined boundaries or constitution; devoted exclusively to the culture, interests, heritage and religion of the Jewish people. Immigration is based on being Jewish. Any Jew can claim citizenship while Palestinians who lived there for decades and were expelled in an ethnic cleansing and to this day are denied the right to return to their homeland.
Haim Cohen, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Israel stated:
"The bitter irony of fate decreed that the same biological and racist argument extended by the Nazis, and which inspired the inflammatory laws of Nuremberg, serve as the basis for the official definition of Jewishness in the bosom of the state of Israel."
(Fundamental Laws of the State of Israel NY, 1960, P.156)

In March 2002 thousands of Palestinians were injured, arrested, or made homeless. Israeli troops forced Palestinian civilians to assist military operations and used others to shield themselves from danger. Troops looted and damaged the property of civilians and of the Palestinian Authority. Between September 30, 2000, and May 10, 2004, some 500 Palestinian children and 2,500 Palestinian adults were killed. By the end of November 2004, 3,040 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces, including 606 children. The Israeli government opened Military Police investigations into several cases of looting and the forced use of civilians in military operations, but did not investigate any cases of civilian deaths.
Human Rights Watch has found that Israeli military’s investigative practices and procedures are not impartial, thorough, or timely. The military rarely has brought wrongdoers to justice, and existing practices have exerted little deterrent effect. In May 2004, for example, Zvi Koretzki was convicted for the negligent killing of sixteen-year-old Muhammad ‘Ali Zaid; he was demoted and sentenced to two months of imprisonment. In contrast, the same court system handed down a sentence of six months to a defendant who had stolen a mobile phone, cigarette lighter and $500 cash!
Conscientious objectors have been sentenced to twelve months in prison.
America’s $84.8 billion in aid to Israel from fiscal years 1949 through 1998, and the interest the U.S. paid to borrow this money, has cost U.S. taxpayers $134.8 billion, not adjusted for inflation. Or, put another way, the nearly $14,630 every one of the approx. 6 million Israelis received from the U.S. government by Oct. 31, 1997 has cost American taxpayers $23,240 per Israeli!
The Israeli “demo(n)cracy” is a Jewish/Zionist state, without any defined boundaries or constitution; devoted exclusively to the culture, interests, heritage and religion of the Jewish people. Immigration is based on being Jewish. Any Jew can claim citizenship while Palestinians who lived there for decades and were expelled in an ethnic cleansing and to this day are denied the right to return to their homeland.
Haim Cohen, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Israel stated:
“The bitter irony of fate decreed that the same biological and racist argument extended by the Nazis, and which inspired the inflammatory laws of Nuremberg, serve as the basis for the official definition of Jewishness in the bosom of the state of Israel.”
(Fundamental Laws of the State of Israel NY, 1960, P.156)

Dave, Sue: So, what would the Palestinians' proportional response be to the "war" of the past few weeks? Now they have right to bomb the hell out of Israel? This talk of the right to deadly force is baloney. It just fuels the fire. This is not about the right to the kill. This is the about the obligation Israel has to address the eviction and murder of Palestinians when Israel was founded. If you steal my purse and I try to get it back, do you have a right to hit me?

Dave, Sue: So, what would the Palestinians’ proportional response be to the “war” of the past few weeks? Now they have right to bomb the hell out of Israel? This talk of the right to deadly force is baloney. It just fuels the fire. This is not about the right to the kill. This is the about the obligation Israel has to address the eviction and murder of Palestinians when Israel was founded. If you steal my purse and I try to get it back, do you have a right to hit me?

ya need a bigger table to re solve this act of Greek apocraphee/he said she said did done dues,,just lowering the bar for the smidgets of mice mouses & oo yea or devices men seem to conveince themselves that they are supreme and capable of their own rights demise

Question ,,?-does a two fyre wall set create a division or merely perpetuate an exscuse for forbidden zone,a forced field if you like one where the majic focus never really lets any one regaurdless of "side be any thing except a victim of a tyranny and or other worldly circumstance,,benafiting only whOO,no one knows,maybe now their may be a logical response,made of something other than messianic forcast and plagerized reeddited religous warz disasster and scripture ?

ya need a bigger table to re solve this act of Greek apocraphee/he said she said did done dues,,just lowering the bar for the smidgets of mice mouses & oo yea or devices men seem to conveince themselves that they are supreme and capable of their own rights demise

Question ,,?-does a two fyre wall set create a division or merely perpetuate an exscuse for forbidden zone,a forced field if you like one where the majic focus never really lets any one regaurdless of “side be any thing except a victim of a tyranny and or other worldly circumstance,,benafiting only whOO,no one knows,maybe now their may be a logical response,made of something other than messianic forcast and plagerized reeddited religous warz disasster and scripture ?

Dave Jones – Yes, Israel has the right to defend its citizens. Actually, it is every government's duty to protect their citizens, but governments are required to adhere to basic, and well-defined rules of war. These rules are compiled from the Geneva Conventions and other international bodies of law and are well known to everyone's military, including the U.S.

AI is also asking that the GOI reveal the weaponry used in Gaza as they denied the use of WP and Palestinian civilians suffering was prolonged since doctors did not know what they were dealings with to accurately treat the burns. Since there are other unusual wounds that doctors are grappling with, they are making this request. You can see the press release at:http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-release…

Some of the other examples you use haven't been verified. AI is calling on the UN to set up an independent international inquiry into the allegations of human rights abuses by both parties of the conflict:http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR41/007/…

Sue, Gordon re: 'proportional response': AI uses this term alittle differently than political organizations and the media. AI uses the humanitarian law definition. Western militaries also use this definition. Armies must do a 'risk assessment' of each target and try to use the rules of 'proportion, distinction and necessity'. 'Proportion' means they ask, 'Are there concrete, military advantages to attacking this target that outweigh the collateral damage such as civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure?' The type of weapons to use also come into play with 'proportionality' and 'distinction'. So when AI says an attack is 'disproportionate', it means we believe this assessment was not done or that the line was crossed when the attack was done. For example, was it proportionate to drop a one ton bomb on a home of a Hamas member to kill him when a dozen members of his family were present, including children?

AI does not compare numbers and does not use the term 'proportion' to do so. Now, the number of civilians killed or the degree of civilian infrastructure damaged may serve as an indicator that the rules of 'proportionality' were not followed.

International rules of war allow for civilians casualties. It is understood that some civilians will die in conflicts, but each party is obligated to follow these guidelines as closely as possible to reduce the number of civilians killed and damage to the civilian infrastructure in the area being attacked.

Dave Jones – Yes, Israel has the right to defend its citizens. Actually, it is every government's duty to protect their citizens, but governments are required to adhere to basic, and well-defined rules of war. These rules are compiled from the Geneva Conventions and other international bodies of law and are well known to everyone's military, including the U.S.

AI is also asking that the GOI reveal the weaponry used in Gaza as they denied the use of WP and Palestinian civilians suffering was prolonged since doctors did not know what they were dealings with to accurately treat the burns. Since there are other unusual wounds that doctors are grappling with, they are making this request. You can see the press release at:http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-release…

Some of the other examples you use haven't been verified. AI is calling on the UN to set up an independent international inquiry into the allegations of human rights abuses by both parties of the conflict:http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR41/007/…

Sue, Gordon re: 'proportional response': AI uses this term alittle differently than political organizations and the media. AI uses the humanitarian law definition. Western militaries also use this definition. Armies must do a 'risk assessment' of each target and try to use the rules of 'proportion, distinction and necessity'. 'Proportion' means they ask, 'Are there concrete, military advantages to attacking this target that outweigh the collateral damage such as civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure?' The type of weapons to use also come into play with 'proportionality' and 'distinction'. So when AI says an attack is 'disproportionate', it means we believe this assessment was not done or that the line was crossed when the attack was done. For example, was it proportionate to drop a one ton bomb on a home of a Hamas member to kill him when a dozen members of his family were present, including children?

AI does not compare numbers and does not use the term 'proportion' to do so. Now, the number of civilians killed or the degree of civilian infrastructure damaged may serve as an indicator that the rules of 'proportionality' were not followed.

International rules of war allow for civilians casualties. It is understood that some civilians will die in conflicts, but each party is obligated to follow these guidelines as closely as possible to reduce the number of civilians killed and damage to the civilian infrastructure in the area being attacked.

Dave Jones – Yes, Israel has the right to defend its citizens. Actually, it is every government's duty to protect their citizens, but governments are required to adhere to basic, and well-defined rules of war. These rules are compiled from the Geneva Conventions and other international bodies of law and are well known to everyone's military, including the U.S.

AI is also asking that the GOI reveal the weaponry used in Gaza as they denied the use of WP and Palestinian civilians suffering was prolonged since doctors did not know what they were dealings with to accurately treat the burns. Since there are other unusual wounds that doctors are grappling with, they are making this request. You can see the press release at:http://www.amnesty.org/en/for-media/press-release…

Some of the other examples you use haven't been verified. AI is calling on the UN to set up an independent international inquiry into the allegations of human rights abuses by both parties of the conflict:http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR41/007/…

Sue, Gordon re: 'proportional response': AI uses this term alittle differently than political organizations and the media. AI uses the humanitarian law definition. Western militaries also use this definition. Armies must do a 'risk assessment' of each target and try to use the rules of 'proportion, distinction and necessity'. 'Proportion' means they ask, 'Are there concrete, military advantages to attacking this target that outweigh the collateral damage such as civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure?' The type of weapons to use also come into play with 'proportionality' and 'distinction'. So when AI says an attack is 'disproportionate', it means we believe this assessment was not done or that the line was crossed when the attack was done. For example, was it proportionate to drop a one ton bomb on a home of a Hamas member to kill him when a dozen members of his family were present, including children?

AI does not compare numbers and does not use the term 'proportion' to do so. Now, the number of civilians killed or the degree of civilian infrastructure damaged may serve as an indicator that the rules of 'proportionality' were not followed.

International rules of war allow for civilians casualties. It is understood that some civilians will die in conflicts, but each party is obligated to follow these guidelines as closely as possible to reduce the number of civilians killed and damage to the civilian infrastructure in the area being attacked.

Dave Jones – Yes, Israel has the right to defend its citizens. Actually, it is every government’s duty to protect their citizens, but governments are required to adhere to basic, and well-defined rules of war. These rules are compiled from the Geneva Conventions and other international bodies of law and are well known to everyone’s military, including the U.S.

James Monroe – Amnesty’s research team has been able to verify that WP has been intentionally used in densely populated areas indiscriminately which is a war crime:

AI is also asking that the GOI reveal the weaponry used in Gaza as they denied the use of WP and Palestinian civilians suffering was prolonged since doctors did not know what they were dealings with to accurately treat the burns. Since there are other unusual wounds that doctors are grappling with, they are making this request. You can see the press release at:

Some of the other examples you use haven’t been verified. AI is calling on the UN to set up an independent international inquiry into the allegations of human rights abuses by both parties of the conflict:

Sue, Gordon re: ‘proportional response’: AI uses this term alittle differently than political organizations and the media. AI uses the humanitarian law definition. Western militaries also use this definition. Armies must do a ‘risk assessment’ of each target and try to use the rules of ‘proportion, distinction and necessity’. ‘Proportion’ means they ask, ‘Are there concrete, military advantages to attacking this target that outweigh the collateral damage such as civilian deaths and damage to civilian infrastructure?’ The type of weapons to use also come into play with ‘proportionality’ and ‘distinction’. So when AI says an attack is ‘disproportionate’, it means we believe this assessment was not done or that the line was crossed when the attack was done. For example, was it proportionate to drop a one ton bomb on a home of a Hamas member to kill him when a dozen members of his family were present, including children?

AI does not compare numbers and does not use the term ‘proportion’ to do so. Now, the number of civilians killed or the degree of civilian infrastructure damaged may serve as an indicator that the rules of ‘proportionality’ were not followed.

International rules of war allow for civilians casualties. It is understood that some civilians will die in conflicts, but each party is obligated to follow these guidelines as closely as possible to reduce the number of civilians killed and damage to the civilian infrastructure in the area being attacked.